384 ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA chap. 



en route, through being behind, were, this time, to the fore 

 with the rest in the scramble. When a beast is killed on the 

 march, I let the men help themselves ; there is not time to 

 have it cut up and divided, as it is always best to do with 

 meat that can be carried straight into camp. The scene of 

 carnage under these circumstances beggars description — such 

 hacking and struggling and tearing ; one can liken it to 

 nothing but the vultures' carnival, only with men instead of 

 birds. The meat supply was most welcome — to myself as 

 well as the men. 



Just south of Nyiro the country was much drier than when 

 we passed up ; but a little farther on we got quite suddenly 

 into fresh green grass, showing that a good deal of rain had 

 fallen there recently, further evidence of which was a pool of 

 water and the unusual quantity running in the Barta spruit. 

 But no sooner did we leave the latter than we got as suddenly 

 into dried-up country again, showing that it was only one of 

 those narrow storm-paths, I have before noticed, that we had 

 been crossing. Quantities of game, attracted by the young 

 pasturage, were congregated at one part of this green belt, 

 where the grass had previously been burnt, reminding me of 

 the Transvaal " High Veldt " in old times, though the species 

 here are different. I took toll of them in passing, just before 

 we reached our Barta camp, and was successful in picking out a 

 very fat E. grcvyi for my victim. We found a party of natives 

 of the Suk tribe here, living on game which they snared in the 

 manner described as practised by the El Gume. I had never 

 seen a human being in this part before, and fancy they were 

 wanderers beyond their usual range. They all cleared out 

 "under cover of the night, evidently suspicious of our intentions, 

 probably through a consciousness that they were intruders in 

 this region. 



We got through the long dry march to the next stream 

 splendidly, doing a great part of it by night, the ivory-men 

 having by this time become thoroughly accustomed to their 



